FIDLAR // Almost Free

For the uninitiated, FIDLAR's third LP is a baffling experience. But with context? It is, to put it bluntly, grating at best. On their first two full-length projects, however, the band happily delivered carefree party anthems to Wavves' easygoing fanbase. And while elements of that band still reside on Almost Free (see: the unexpectedly solid closing track, "Good Times Are Over"), the album does less to showcase the band's attempts at growth as it does their inability to take a single, focused step in any direction whatsoever. To be clear, experimentation is one thing. When a critically acclaimed band like M83 experimented on 2016's polarizing Junk, they did something different with the precision and skill utilized on their past records. But when FIDLAR tries it here, the results include the sound effect-laden Beastie Boys impersonation, "Get Off My Rock," and the Gary Glitter-esque stadium jock jam "Flake." But nothing compares to "Too Real," a vocally horrendous stab at nu-metal that succeeds only at spouting murky, edgelord political statements. In the words of frontman Zac Carper, "Was that too real?" — Aaron Mook